Show NJ 1 YOUR UNITED STArES I roo I o AO 1 Ie Io wul UtI ACQUISITIONS ACQUISITION'S SINCE SPICE 1853 i J ALASKA from In i i I HAWAII sad rJ PALMYRA annexed In la 1 1833 1898 3 SIBER A i t S Spain ps In 1893 I GUA GUAM I. I from rom Spain in 1593 1533 I Q PORTO FORTO RICO from Spain In 1 1533 33 b 00 I TUTUILA acquired by in fo- fo 4 o oby or r Go te v I treat treaty t y in 1 lE 1699 99 s ED CANAL ZONE ZONI Iwo A d from Panama In 1904 1901 VIRGIN ISLANDS from troal Denmark in 1917 D I 0 N M MIDWAY NAVASSA 4 N Nand and ether her small nuU Islands acquired since 1853 t r- r r C N A Aa p a i 4 w I P WHITED STAr II I 1 I A ASIA 51 A u ww 0 l lt I 0 t I j 1 M I r 1 YAa c o 0 ea M f S Swa 0 I JAV p 0 wa w. T a M AUSTRA IA f loo 20 I O j I r I J 14 li il r tv 3 i s r x Y e l fir v r rn ty 7 I p a ft r j q S Tf e K TA 9 l I f Sf coo r C v OAt ti 1 ki r I I of tiro t R C rA 4 t r c u oNu L r AD SAN IY i 1845 i i ot YG iSi r L r z By EL ELMO MO SCOTT WATSON F P YO YOU U want to learn more about the country in which you live than you have ever known before send fifty cents to the superintendent of ot documents documents doc doe at the United States government government government gov gov- printing office In Washington Wash Wash- ington and tell him to send you Bulletin No o. o of ot the United States geological survey The other other other oth oth- er name for that publication Is Boundaries Areas Geographic Centers and Altitudes of the United States and r the Several States but dont don't let that abl sounding able sounding title daunt you For In this I page vage covered paper book by Edward M. M Douglas Douglas Douglas Doug Doug- I las you'll find more Interesting facts than In all the history and geography books you studied at school Its It's a big country this United States of ot America You'll never appreciate Just how big lit is la until you ou read the statistics given In the thelast vast last ast two pages of Bulletin From Greenland's Greenland's Greenland's Green Green- lands land's Icy mountain to Indias India's c oral ciral ral strand Is the familiar and poetical way of ot expressing the extreme ends of the earth But the distance suggested In that expression Is as nothing compared compared compared com com- pared to the distance between the h northernmost and southernmost points In the territory over an which the Stars and Stripes float Point Barrow Barrow Bar Bar- row v the extreme north point of Alaska Is nearly nearly nearly near near- ly miles north of the equator and Rose inlet In the Samoan group the farthest south American land Is exactly 1000 miles south of 11 It Claims that may be based basel upon the Byrd explorations and discoveries of 10 30 1929 30 0 In the Antarctic region may put the American flag even cven farther south so that we may be able to match England's boast of ot dominion over palm and pine with one which mentions from pole poleto to pole Few of ot us may ever get the chance to go from one end of the American possessions to the other but In these days of the automobile and Improved roads any of us can get acquainted acquaint acquaint- ed cd with the extent of the mainland of our country Suppose you ou decide t to make a a. circle j tour of your country follow country follow Its boundary lines until youre you're back where you started from now How far tar do you suppose you will have gone Exactly miles Driving steadily at the rate of 40 miles an hour and putting In 12 hours a aday aday aday day It would take you five weeks and two days to to make such a trip w I Heres Here's the mileage Start at West Quoddy d Head near Eastport Maine the easternmost r point on the mainland of the United States and drive e west following the northern boundary boundary bound bound- ary nil all the way Including the water boundary through the Great Lakes until you reach Cape Alva Wash Vash the westernmost point By that time you will Ill have covered miles Follow I the Pacific coastline down to the Mexican borI bor bor- 1 der and you will add 2730 more miles Turn I east along the Mexican border and Its It's 2 2013 miles until you get to the gulf lf of ot Mexico Follow Follow Fol Fol- low Its shoreline of miles until you round I Florida FlorI then head bead north and after miles V along tile the Atlantic oce ocean n you will be back at West Yest Quoddy Read Dead with miles mUes behind you Or If you dont don't c care re for the circle tour and o want to make male a direct route from the two points I 51 farthest apart In the United States start a at t Cape Flattery Wash and anil travel southeast until you reach a point on the Florida coast south of ot Miami lami You will have covered 2835 miles Would you like to have ha the experience of ot being at the highest and the lowest points In the United States In the matter of altitude You dont don't have to go from one end of the country to the other to do that You can go from the highest to the lowest points In less than an hour that that Is If it you use an airplane For they are only 80 miles mUes apart Sail over the summit of ot Mount Whitney In Inyo Tulare county In California Call Call- brain fornia altitude feet above e sea level le then swoop down less than three miles to the theDe De Death th valley In Inyo county and you will be 27 feet below sea level But even more Interesting than these geographical geographical geographical geo geo- graphical facts In Bulletin Is the American history whIch you will learn from reading rendIng about the boundaries of the Individual states and lookIng looking looking look- look Ing at the maps which Illustrate Its pages Have you ever er wondered why some of our states have bave the queer shapes that they have ha The peculiar Irregularities of some of or the state boundaries are due to compromises made to adjust differences between the representatives tives of the states The SouthwIck Jog for tor example which appears on the boundary between between between be be- tween Connecticut and Massachusetts was established established because In adjusting errors In the boundary boundary bound bound- ary as previously run by compass a long narrow narrow narrow nar nar- row strip of land was given to Connecticut and the Jog ceded to Massachusetts was Intended to be an equivalent area The panhandle at the southeast corner of Missouri Is said to be the result of ot efforts of a prominent landowner to have his plantation Included In in- chided in the new state The projection on the northern boundary of Minnesota which Includes a land area of ot about 12 1 miles mlles separated separated separated sepa sepa- rated from the main part of ot Minnesota b by the Lake of the Woods resulted from the use of Inaccurate maps of the treaty makers Probably the most widely-known widely boundary In Inthe inthe inthe the United States Is the Mason and Dixon line between Pennsylvania and Maryland 1 run by two famous En English lIsh mathematicians In 1703 1763 1707 1767 The accuracy of ot their survey Is shown by the fact that In a resurvey years later with modern instruments and methods the position found for tor the northeast corner of ot Maryland differed only feet from their position The original stones for mile five marks on this line were carved in England from limestone and are still standing with Lord Baltimore's coat of arms on the Mar Maryland side and tile the Penn arms armson armson armson on the Pennsylvania side The west east-west part of ot the boundary between Massachusetts and Rhode Island was for more than years a matter of dispute that was In some respects tho most remarkable boundary question with which this country has had bad to deal Twice the question went to the Supreme court courtot of ot the United States and In one of ot these suits Daniel Webster and Rufus Choate were employed employed employed em em- as counsel for tor Massachusetts Choate to Illustrate the Indefiniteness of ot certain boundary lines said before the Massachusetts legislature The commissioners might as well have decided decided de de- de- de that the line between the states was bounded on the north by a bramble bush on the south by a blue Jay on the west by a hive of ot bees In swarming time and on the east cast by byroo COO roo foxes with firebrands tied to their tails How boundary lines have changed during the years from the first English settlement to the present time Is well Illustrated In the case of ot the state slate of Virginia The Virginia Charter of ot 1609 Included the area extending west to the 40 2 W F k V I T C 1 0 CE IV rM I 0 U T H HRICA RICA 60 e l' l 4 ca 1 a n eS' or orA A q t tl f y yN l T Q Nt sI N v NA yd wt Y J I F C e T E R T O G fu INS i Y T RI t STA E RTE R lilt 6 I u I 1 rN v 0 e C Cit it p are rc a z p pm i 1 m f f W V e eW W 2 nar v lL ae 1 1 Map of the United States showing accessions accessIons accessions of territory since 1853 2 The highest point In the United States States- Mount Whitney In California feet above sea level 3 Northernmost point In United States territory terri tern tory tory Point Point Barrow In Alaska latitude 71 degrees degrees degrees de de- de- de grees 25 minutes north 4 Southernmost point In United States territory terri terri- tory tory Rose Rose Island In the Pacific ocean latitude 14 degrees 32 minutes south 5 6 Map of the United States showing accessions accessions accessions of territory from 1803 to 1853 6 The lowest point In the United States States- Death valley In California feet below sea cea level t. t South Sea that Is the Pacific ocean called Mar del Sur South S Sea a by Balboa In 1513 1518 when he first saw it at nt a place piece where the shorelIne shoreline shore shoreline line runs nearly east and west In 1609 no one knew how far away from the Atlantic the S SouthSea South SouthSea uth Sea was and some of ot the other colonies had charters stating the same western limit Along the Atlantic coast Virginia extended from a point miles mUes north of ot Point Comfort to a point the same distance south So at onetime onetime one onetime time Virginia owned all of ot what Is now North Carolina Tennessee Kentucky West Virginia Maryland and Delaware and parts of ot South Carolina Georgia Alabama Mississippi Illinois Indiana Ohio and Penns Pennsylvania But In the next century and a half she lost a large part of ot that territory The Carolina charters of ot 1603 3 1665 took away from her the land south of the present southern boundaries Lord Baltimore's Mar Maryland land colony deprived her of ot the Chesapeake Chesapeake Chesapeake peake Bay region After the Revolution she ceded to the new republic In to 1784 1 the territory northwest of the Ohio river In 1792 1702 Kentucky was organized as a separate state by her consent consent consent con con- sent and In 1802 1862 when the Civil war rent the tho nation what Is now West Virginia was separated separated separated sepa sepa- rated from the mother state Indiana Is another state which once comprised comprIsed comprised com com- a vast area Including all of ot Illinois and Wisconsin most of Michigan and a n large part of Minnesota Perhaps the largest territory once held by u a present state was that of Missouri In 1812 too the name of ot the territory of ot Louisiana was changed to territory of ot Missouri and at the time It Included all of ot the orI original inal Louisiana Purchase except the present state of Louisiana But gradually Missouri territory and state was whittled down losing most of ot Oklahoma and Arkansas to the latter In 1819 and parts of ot Texas Colorado Kansas and New Mexico to Spain In the same year In 1834 1 Missouri lost all of Iowa and parts of Minnesota North and South Dakota to Michigan and In 1854 1851 most of Montana the rest of North and South Dakota parts of Wyoming and Colorado and all of Nebraska Nebraska Nebraska Ne Ne- braska to the tho latter and to Kansas when the Kansas and Nebraska territories were organized in la that yea year i by N r Union I |